Jaipur, July 28 The long-standing Kankani blackbuck hunting case of 1998 involving Bollywood superstar Salman Khan saw another development during a hearing in the Rajasthan High Court on Monday as the court decided that Salman Khan’s petition for transfer of trial, along with the state government’s 'leave to appeal' against the acquittal of other accused in the case, will now be heard together.
Justice Manoj Kumar Garg, presiding over a single bench, issued these significant directions aimed at consolidating various pending petitions related to the case.
The government's plea challenges the lower court’s decision to acquit co-accused superstars Saif Ali Khan, Neelam, Tabu, Sonali Bendre, and Dushyant Singh by giving them the benefit of the doubt.
The blackbuck hunting case dates back to October 1998, when superstar Salman Khan and a group of Bollywood actors were accused of poaching endangered blackbucks near Kankani village in Jodhpur during the shooting of the film ‘Hum Saath Saath Hain’.
The case has since seen multiple legal turns, with superstar Salman Khan convicted in one of the cases and sentenced to five years in jail in 2018, though he is currently out on bail.
Justice Garg has now clubbed both superstar Salman Khan’s transfer petition and the state’s appeal against the acquittals for a combined hearing. The High Court will take up the matter on September 22.
This joint hearing is expected to be crucial, as the court may decide on whether the appeals against the acquittals have merit and if the ongoing legal proceedings require transfer for a fair trial.
The case has remained in the public eye for over two decades, symbolising both the complexity of India’s legal process and the scrutiny faced by celebrities involved in legal battles.
--IANS
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